Hello all ... After a long consideration, I bought a LEAF this past Saturday. I got an excellent deal on a 2014 SV and am pleased with it so far. I don't see too many of them around the Memphis area, unfortunately, but from what I hear from the dealers, the people who have bought or leased them have been pleased. One of the sales guys said that most of the people who have leased them, end up purchasing them once their lease is up haha.

I'm looking forward to learning more about this car from your experiences.

I initial bought my Leaf for around the town work related trips, but it quickly took over nearly everything our family does due to the lost cost for electricity vs. gas. We went from spending $150+ a month for gas to $12 a month for gas now and only increased our electric bill by $20 a month so far.

Last edited by knightmb on Fri Feb 27, 2015 10:32 am, edited 1 time in total.

I initial bought my Leaf for around the town work related trips, but it quickly too over nearly everything our family does due to the lost cost for electricity vs. gas. We went from spending $150+ a month for gas to $12 a month for gas now and only increased our electric bill by $20 a month so far.

I expect a similar experience haha. I calculated the cost of electricity as compared to my normal gas purchases. I'll go from over $100 (depending on the price of gas) to less than $30 a month. Memphis has extremely low utility rates- averaging $0.07 per kWh. I do wish there were some CHAdeMO stations along I-40 from Memphis to Nashville & Clarksville. As it is now, I won't be able to use my LEAF to go to visit my family in Stewart County. That's a minor issue, though. I can just rent a car for those trips.

jamieo wrote:... I'll go from over $100 (depending on the price of gas) to less than $30 a month. Memphis has extremely low utility rates- averaging $0.07 per kWh. I do wish there were some CHAdeMO stations along I-40 from Memphis to Nashville & Clarksville. ...

Congratulations on the new LEAF Wish there were more DCQC stations too.But even when they were free for a while, the time involved in traveling doing that is extensive.I only made the Chattanooga to Knoxville and back trip one time.The overall speed on the trip from home to Knoxville meeting near UTK was 38 mph. And charge was pretty low at that point.For the day my average speed was probably 30 mph.Even slower than the speeds prior to the Interstates.Plus they put the stations too far apart on the ones that were put in under the EV Project.Even as Tesla S people have learned it is most efficient to be charging from 10% up to around 75%.I did 80% charge at Athens and just barely made it to the one in West Knoxville, and that was cutting way back on speed and no heat on 45F day.I would have done the trip more when they were free, but it took them nearly a year to get them somewhat reliable.But with no redundancy on the stations I was pretty lucky that day that all three of them worked going both ways.Now that they cost $5 a session, it is much cheaper to drive my 2009 Altima to Knoxville, plus a lot faster too.

That .07/kWh price in Memphis is really low. How did they keep their overhead that low?Memphis and Chattanooga are both TVA power, but Chattanooga EPB power is around .10/kWh.But even with that LEAF variable cost for me is around 3 1/2 cents per mile, versus around 13 cents per mile for the 2009 four cylinder Altima with the currently low gasoline prices.

Have fun with the LEAF Mine still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it, even after 45 months

jamieo wrote:... I'll go from over $100 (depending on the price of gas) to less than $30 a month. Memphis has extremely low utility rates- averaging $0.07 per kWh. I do wish there were some CHAdeMO stations along I-40 from Memphis to Nashville & Clarksville. ...

Congratulations on the new LEAF Wish there were more DCQC stations too.But even when they were free for a while, the time involved in traveling doing that is extensive.I only made the Chattanooga to Knoxville and back trip one time.The overall speed on the trip from home to Knoxville meeting near UTK was 38 mph. And charge was pretty low at that point.For the day my average speed was probably 30 mph.Even slower than the speeds prior to the Interstates.Plus they put the stations too far apart on the ones that were put in under the EV Project.Even as Tesla S people have learned it is most efficient to be charging from 10% up to around 75%.I did 80% charge at Athens and just barely made it to the one in West Knoxville, and that was cutting way back on speed and no heat on 45F day.I would have done the trip more when they were free, but it took them nearly a year to get them somewhat reliable.But with no redundancy on the stations I was pretty lucky that day that all three of them worked going both ways.Now that they cost $5 a session, it is much cheaper to drive my 2009 Altima to Knoxville, plus a lot faster too.

That .07/kWh price in Memphis is really low. How did they keep their overhead that low?Memphis and Chattanooga are both TVA power, but Chattanooga EPB power is around .10/kWh.But even with that LEAF variable cost for me is around 3 1/2 cents per mile, versus around 13 cents per mile for the 2009 four cylinder Altima with the currently low gasoline prices.

Have fun with the LEAF Mine still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it, even after 45 months

jamieo wrote:I expect a similar experience haha. I calculated the cost of electricity as compared to my normal gas purchases. I'll go from over $100 (depending on the price of gas) to less than $30 a month. Memphis has extremely low utility rates- averaging $0.07 per kWh. I do wish there were some CHAdeMO stations along I-40 from Memphis to Nashville & Clarksville. As it is now, I won't be able to use my LEAF to go to visit my family in Stewart County. That's a minor issue, though. I can just rent a car for those trips.

Yeah, that is odd. I checked the map, not a single DC fast charger to be found. I recently drove a 320 mile trip to GA and there was a DCQC at nearly every Cracker Barrel along the way, then when in GA, the eVgo DCQC were everywhere along the way as well. Seems it a good opportunity for someone to setup the QC along that section of the state.

I drove to Covington TN for my first time in an EV this Thanksgiving Holiday. Two things really stood out in Tennessee (with the exception of Nashville area) relative to other states I've traveled in. One, is that the majority of public charging stations (BLINK) are for profit, including Cracker Barrel. Two, is that the amount of public charging of any kind is relatively low. Cudo's to you all who are taking the leap before your state really shows better infrastructure support.

One of the most common responses I got when I asked about plugging in resources iis that it would make sense for them to have a charging station nearby (I always do my shopping and entertainment at locations with publich charging stations, if available) but nobody has ever asked before, so they are not sure if it would make sense to install one...

Several businesses let me plug in to their 110 v outlet while I was shopping in the area (a special thanks to Covington Town Square businesses for discussing making that resource public knowlege).

Don't be afraid to ask where you can plug in, when you go some where. If they hear it enough times, from enough people...